Fwd: Letter #67 - 7/14/14

Here's another great letter.  Her release date is Oct. 15!  I will miss these letters!

Christine

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 6:06 AM
Subject: Letter #67 - 7/14/14
To: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>

Hello world!

What a wonderful week! Hard in some ways, but SO good in other ways. For one, we went to the temple on Friday and I loved it. The temple is even more special here because (1) it's Kiev, let's be honest, and (2) we can only go three times a year so it's a real holiday when it happens. What a blessing that there's a temple in Kiev. But these Saints are totally worthy of it, seriously. I LOVE UKRAINE!

Okay, what else happened this week? We had another great lesson with Irina, but unfortunately she called the next day and said it's better if we stop meeting because "it's just not her thing." She said she's just not a religious person and doesn't like praying, going to church, etc. That was pretty hard to hear, especially because we have felt so much love toward her as we've met. But surprisingly I was able to handle it a lot better than during other times in my mission because the Spirit prepared me ahead of time by leading me to D&C 88:32-33 -- "They shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift."

I thought of a scenario of someone breaking into my house and giving me a brand new, completely free big-screen TV. But what if I didn't want a TV? In fact, what if I had just decided that I'm better off without a TV? No matter how nice the TV is, the fact is that you broke into my house (wrong) and gave me something that I didn't want (wrong), and I have no joy in either the TV or in you. Likewise, as glorious as salvation is, and as fulfilling as life is when a person lives according to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we can never force others to accept it, because that's just as wrong and unpleasant as the scenario with the TV (for both the giver and the receiver). However, we can (and must) tell and testify about how amazing the gospel is in our own lives and others', explain why it's absolutely necessary in the grand scheme of things, and invite them to try it for themselves, but then it's their choice what to do with that big, beautiful, free package waiting on their doorstep.

In other news, other investigators are using their agency to accept the gospel, little by little. :) We had an amazing lesson with Polya where she bore testimony (without even knowing what a testimony is yet) of how she's been praying every day and that God really does answer her prayers. We talked about what the Holy Ghost feels like, and in her prayer at the end of the lesson, she even thanked Heavenly Father for the Spirit that we felt in our lesson. SO COOL! Nothing is better than moments like that as a missionary. :)

I'll leave you with a spiritual thought I just sent President. Enjoy!

D&C 88:40-61 has been on my mind so lately ever since the Holy Ghost led me to it during personal study, and it applies so much to missionary work. "[We] give light to each other in [our] times and in [our] seasons, in [our] minutes, in [our] hours, in [our] days, in [our] weeks, in [our] months, in [our] years..." (v.44). To the woman on the metro, I may just be a star; to the less active I may be the moon; and to those who I teach and lead to baptism, I will be as their sun (v.45), knowing that the light that I have the privilege of sharing is completely from the Lord Himself (v.50). I have a responsibility to live every day so that I am full of light and truth, because THEN "light [will cleave] unto light" (v.40), and the elect and I will find each other. And literally no effort it wasted, because light always lands on SOMETHING, "every man in his own order" (v.60). "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isa. 55:11).

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Montgomery

Fwd: Letter #66 - 7/7/14

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jul 7, 2014 at 5:26 AM
Subject: Letter #66 - 7/7/14
To: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>

Quick letter today because there's not a whole lot to say. Another slow week, but not as slow as last one. There were some happy coincidences / tender mercies, for example we had FHE at a member's house, and the daughter had invited her friend (who we taught the Restoration to a couple months ago), and we had a really great time together. We played and sang and talked about hymns, and the Spirit was super strong. Also, we had a lesson with a woman named Irina (50-something years old) who we met on the street awhile ago (who invited us over because she's met Elders before and really liked them), and the member we invited to the lesson happened to already know Irina since they've lived in the same area for a long time. They got along so great, and now Irina has a friend in the Church! Also, it was neat to see Irina's change of heart, even in the short span of a lesson -- she started off by saying she's not a very religious person and that she just likes being with us, and she ended by sincerely listening to our testimonies of prayer and even praying herself, thanking God for "what might be a new and good step in my life's journey."

We celebrated the 4th of July in the mission office at our first mission conference with President Packer and his family. If that conference was a "test" (which it wasn't, but if it was...) to see if the new mission president is "up to par," then President Packer passed with flying colors in my book. He is such a good man with a great heart, his wife is hilarious, and his children are adorable (two boys, 14 and 13, and two girls, 9 and 6). It was also amazing to see how he is perfect for this mission right now -- the little bit of counsel he gave us fit perfectly into the needs of the missionaries in this mission, and he probably doesn't even know it yet. Also, it's hilarious to me how much he and President Klebingat are polar opposites (controlling for Christlike attributes of course). It's really great though, and I wrote a little bit in my journal about why:

I've been reflecting on mission conference with President Packer and how different he is from President Klebingat and yet perfect for this mission right now. I realized that one thing I've learned on my mission is the value of differences and that there's not actually ONE best way of doing things, but the gospel allows for a variety of people to be governed by the same principles and yet still maintain their personality, talents, and experiences. More than that, God's love can still be whole and unchanging for ALL of His children, regardless of their differences.

As Moses 6:63 teaches, the Lord's creations themselves bear witness of this principle. For example, He created a greater variety of plants and animals than we can imagine, all with their different characteristics and purposes, in order to beautify and give variety to the earth. A bear isn't better then a monkey or vise versa, and yet they can both do things that the other one can't, and that's okay -- the bear just needs to become the best bear it can be, and the monkey needs to do the same, and neither must force or expect or even desire that the other one becomes more like himself. Also, snowflakes have always been a testimony to me of the uniqueness of God's creations, especially the human soul. That in itself leads me to be interested in, respect, and love all those that I come in contact with.

With that in mind, I hope we all pray and strive to have charity and see the beauty in everyone around us!

That's all I have time for. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Montgomery

Fwd: Letter #65 - 6/30/14

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 10:40 AM
Subject: Fwd: Letter #65 - 6/30/14
To: "melandruthfans@yahoogroups.com" <melandruthfans@yahoogroups.com>, "maxsteiner32@live.com" <maxsteiner32@live.com>, Kaye Williams <kayewms@colostate.edu>, Auli Summerhays <coloradoauli@hotmail.com>, "elisebowers@comcast.net" <elisebowers@comcast.net>, Tiffany Davis <m2jdab2003@yahoo.com>, Kelli Reed <hellofromkr@hotmail.com>

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 5:45 AM
Subject: Letter #65 - 6/30/14
To: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>

Dear everyone,

Hey there! Before I forget, here's the funny story I wanted to write last week. So... there's this wonderful old woman in my ward whose name is Ludmilla. She's super cute and nice, but she's also pretty old and kind of has Alzheimers and so often forgets things (like she'll say the opening prayer... and the closing one) :) Anyway, I just love this lady, and a few months ago, I read and gave her a poem I once wrote for a woman whose husband passed away, because Ludmilla also lost her husband a long time ago. (See the end of this email for the poem, and like usual, know that it's at least 78 times better than what Google Translate is going to give you...)

Anyway, the other week we stopped by her, and she got to talking about her son, and she said, "My son is Orthodox, and when he came by recently, he gave me this Orthodox icon," and she showed us this little icon of Saint Ludmilla or something like that. And then she added, "And you know what else? There's this amazing little Orthodox prayer that goes along with this, and even though it's not from our Church, it helps me so much. I read it every day and find so much comfort in it. Here, I'll read it for you." She then pulled out a little sheet of paper and started reading it, choking up a little on the words. But here's the hilarious thing -- it was MY poem that I had given her with MY name written on it! Sister Parish and I were dying of silent laughter, and we didn't have the heart to tell her what it really was. When she finished reading it out loud, she added, "See! Every church has some truth!" Oh man... that has got to be the most hilarious thing that has ever happened to me -- being quoted as an Orthodox prayer. :)

So... this week was super rough in terms of plans falling through left and right. We had a grand total of 2 member lessons and 1 lesson with an investigator (Larisa), and even that was kind of rough. But hey, it happens sometimes, and we're hoping and praying and planning and working for a much better week this week.

Just a few minutes left for a spiritual thought. I've been thinking a lot about how the mission has changed me, and I think more than anything else, it has increased my passion for service so much that I just crave it. I've found similar feelings in the scriptures from a few of the prophets:

Jeremiah 20:9 --"But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay."

Alma 43:1 --"And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth."

Ether 12:2 --"And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him."

That is absolutely me right now, and that's who I'm going to be more than ever before when I get home. I've always enjoyed serving others before my mission, but I'd hardly seek out those opportunities, preferring instead to develop spiritually "on my own" (which, by the way, doesn't even begin to compare to the depth of developing spiritually within the context of others, especially considering how charity is the greatest of all the gifts of God, and how do you develop charity "on your own"? Food for thought.) But now... guess who's going to be the one going up to the Bishop and Relief Society president and missionaries asking how to help? Guess who's going to be the one seeking out lost sheep and new sheep and worn-down sheep? Guess who's going to waste and wear out her life in perfecting the Saints, proclaiming the gospel, redeeming the dead, and caring for the poor and the needy? The restored gospel of Jesus Christ has become a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I cannot rest or be restrained from building the Kingdom of God on the earth. If nothing else, my mission has kindled a spiritual fire that I pray will continue to grow and be with me until the day I die, and then some. :)

That's all for today. Have a wonderful week and 4th of July!

Love,

Sister Montgomery

PS -- Here's that great Orthodox prayer ;)

Послание с Небес
Написанное Сестрой Монтгомери

Дочка дорогая, для тебя пошёл сюда
Чтоб быть с тобой, нести твои тяжёлые бремена.
Хотел Я выражать тебе любовь твоего мужа;
Он отдыхает со Мной без бед, забот, греха.

Пока ты ждёшь туда вернуться снова быть с ним,
Не забудь, что буду рядом — Духом всем Своим
К тебе приду, Я исцелю, Я отдых дам тебе.
Такое обещание всем: придите ко Мне.

Дочка дорогая, мир да будет твоей душе —
Все твои невзгоды будут кратковременны.
И если устоишь в них, я тебя возвышу;
Тогда же ты узнаешь, всё тебе пошло на пользу.

Дочка дорогая, тебя Я так люблю
И благодарен Я за верность сильную твою.
Держись, Я говорю тебе, за вечную любовь;
Пребывай спокойно и знай, что Я ест Бог!

Letter #64 - 6/23/14

 

Dear family and friends,

 

I just wrote my very last letter to President Klebingat, and I feel like part of my heart just broke a little...

 

I guess while he's on my mind, I'll write first about the mission conference we had on Saturday. It was the last time our whole mission got together with the Klebingats -- they leave this Saturday, and President Packer and his family will take their place. The conference we had was absolutely amazing. Not only did I get to see SO many amazing missionaries who have become some of my best friends, but the Klebingats filled us from head to toe with post-mission life advice on all of the most important topics (and they were many). President gave us the homework to write a list of "things I will always do as a result of my mission" and "things I will no longer do as a result of my mission," and I can tell you right now that I will have a hefty list. My mission has changed me so deeply in so many ways, and I intend to have it completely change my life after the nametag comes off. In another letter, maybe toward the end, I'll share with you some of the greatest changes that I've noticed have happened within me; this last week especially I've been noticing so much. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to serve a mission... what a blessing and honor to have this experience.

 

At the very end of the conference, President said that he wanted to say one-on-one goodbyes, and he asked permission to hug the Sisters (and Sister Klebingat to hug the Elders). And so we went through in a line, and he said some parting words to each of us. Sister Parish later said, "I don't think I've ever felt so much love and meaning in a single hug than I did then with President Klebingat," and I agreed 100%. I don't know what it's like in other missions, but I know that in this mission, President loves all his missionaries in such an unwavering and sincere way, and I will forever cherish the relationship I have with him. After his last words to me, I sat back down and realized that I was crying. I will miss him so much. In the letter I just wrote him, I ended with this:

Well, I won't say goodbye to you because it's not really a goodbye. And I won't say too many thank you's because they wouldn't really do justice to the gratitude I have for you. But I will say that I love you, and I thank our Heavenly Father for the opportunity I had to get to know you and learn from you. Thank you, President Klebingat, for everything! God be with you till we meet again!

 

Well enough on that (before I start crying again...) This last week was great. Investigators are doing a little better, members are still doing great (I have a hilarious story for you next week about one of them... stay tuned), and I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. So many people wished me the very best (and in Ukraine, that usually means that they come up to you, take you by the hand, look very sincerely at you, and then give you a whole long blessing in which they wish you all sorts of things like health, parents' health, a good future husband, his health, happiness, friends, their health and happiness, and so on and so forth... just a little different than the American "Hey, happy birthday! Have a great day!") :) I also got a lot of gifts, one of the greatest ones being two investigators at church! Yevgenia, the older lady from English, came for the first time, and it made me SO happy. Polya also came and loved it, which just added to my joy. Overall it was a wonderful day, and it feels good being 23!

 

Unfortunately, my time is up, so I'll have to end there. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you!

 

Love,

Sister Montgomery

 

PS -- The picture of me in my "mission conference outfit" came about because Sister Parish and I were talking all week about what we were going to wear to mission conference, and as a joke, I got dressed up like that to show her what outfit I picked out. (Yes, friends, I know it's hideous... I'm getting a little better at this whole fashion thing) ;) The other picture is me with my MTC district over a year after we came here together (with my real mission conference outfit). Time flies! :)

 

Fwd: Letter #63 - 6/16/14

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 5:41 AM
Subject: Letter #63 - 6/16/14
To: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>

Not much time to write today, but I'll do my best. Here's a couple highs and lows that I just sent President:

Highlight of this last week: our district finished writing a song for our bishop, and on Wednesday we stopped by and surprised him with it. It was to the tune of "The Piano Man" by Billy Joel and had lyrics like [this is translated], "Thank you for the business cards (that he printed for us) / and your willingness to always help us / We look to you as an example / While we look to you from below (because he's really tall)" and the chorus was, "Give us an assignment, Bishop / Give us an assignment right now / That's the reason why we're here / To lighten your load." He LOVED it, and it even made his wife cry as we played it (all six of us and a guitar crowded in his kitchen). It's incredible how much joy service can bring to all who are involved. Besides uplifting every single one of us, we're even more united now and I think it really increased Bishop's trust in us. That was so great!

On the other hand, it was a pretty rough week. In short, our investigators have been "blinded by the craftiness of men" (D&C 76:75). Yura, a very faithful member of another Christian church, has addressed the internet and his church's interpretation of the Bible far more intensely than he has addressed God in prayer in order to find out the truthfulness of our message (or NOT find out rather), and he doesn't want to meet with us anymore. Lera (a 16-year-old), after having what we considered a very spiritual lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ, straight up told us, "I honestly don't want anything to do with your church. It just seems so boring to me."

So yeah... that was pretty rough. But we also met with Polya, and though it because clear that we need to reteach our previous lessons (so that she understands better), her desire to know more and live according to the gospel is definitely there. And she said the prayer at the end of our lesson this week, and it was the first time she said a prayer with us in her own words (instead of "The Lord's Prayer" from the Bible), and it was so good. I almost cried I was so happy. Missionary work seriously brings you to the highest highs and the lowest lows, it's crazy. We also found some great new investigators, including a middle-aged woman Natalya who works at a hostel nearby our apartment and who is SUPER nice and open to our message. And so the work moves on.

My spiritual thought today is just going to be the words of a hymn that came into my mind during one of the hard moments of this past week. It's "Abide with Me," and you can even listen to a neat version of it here.

1. Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!

2. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day.
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me!

3. I need thy presence ev'ry passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter's pow'r?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Thru cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me!

My testimony of the comfort of the Lord grows every single day. As I wrote in my journal this week, "Being a missionary is hard, and sorrow for the sins of the world can be excruciating. But at least I'm not alone in this, and though the world may reject Him, at least the Lord is on my side." God has been faithful in buoying me up through all these recent trials, and I know that He will help each one of you too as you struggle with whatever it is you're struggling with.

K, that's all for today. I love you all! Have a great week, and I'll talk to you again when I'm 23! :)

Love,

Sister Montgomery

Fwd: Letter #62 - 6/9/14

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 5:38 AM
Subject: Letter #62 - 6/9/14
To: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>

Dear family,

I forgot to write last week that we got transfo, and I'm staying in Vinograder with Sister Parish! That means 4.5 months with one companion, as opposed to my previous eight companions (6 weeks, 6 weeks, 9 weeks, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 weeks, 1 week...). It's great though; our area is making progress, our ward is still wonderful, and Sister Parish and I do great work together. :)

This last week we did some cute things to thank our ward leaders for their service. We bought some chocolate coins, wrote numbers on one side of the wrapper and a message from us on the other side (word by word), then we mixed them up and gave it to our ward mission leader. So he had to take all the coins, put them in order, then turn them over to see the message. It said, "Dear Brat Maltzev, Thank you for your love for missionary work, for your willingness to help us, for your strong testimony and incredible example, and for your wise counsel. We respect you! Love, The Missionaries." All six of us went over to his house Saturday night and surprised him with it, and though at first it scared him because he thought that we were leaving and it was a goodbye gift, he ended up really loving it. And then we all sang "Called to Serve" with the guitar. It was definitely a uniting experience, and it felt so good to do that kind little deed for him. One of the many things I've learned on my mission is how much joy service brings. There's nothing quite like it! We also wrote a cute little song for Bishop to the tune of "The Piano Man" by Billy Joel, and we're gonna stop by and sing it to him sometime this week. Hope he likes it! :)

We had a better week than last time in terms of investigator work. We taught Yura and Lera the Plan of Salvation, and Polya (15-year-old, Valya's friend) came to church yesterday and loved it! I was worrying the whole time that it was too boring/quirky/political, but she felt the Spirit, really enjoyed it, and totally clicked with the YW President who will soon be joining us on another lesson. I wrote in Letter #56, "Valya is super interested, her friend Polya a little less so," but they've ended up switching; Valya's busy and not super interested, and Polya can hardly wait to meet with us again. She's really a sweet girl, and things are looking great for her spiritual progress. :)

A little spiritual thought to end with: I've been thinking lately about how commitments can be compared to a two-part bridge. The first part is the bridge between people's current actions and their keeping of commitments (or commandments), and the second bridge is between the keeping of those commitments and receiving the associated blessings and testimony. If I had to image these two bridges, with a little island in the middle, the first bridge would be different lengths and qualities for every single person -- some are made of cement (easy for them to keep commitments) and some are barely hanging from a thread (no desire to make changes in their lives). But that second bridge... it's pretty much paved with gold. It is strong, it is sure, and it is unbreakable.

Obedience brings blessings; that's how it's always been and how it'll always be. For example, any person who reads and prays about the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ (the first bridge) will find out that it's true (the second bridge). Sometimes I feel like missionary work is 99% trying to convince people to pass that first bridge and 1% watching the amazing results of the second bridge, but those results and so wonderful that in the end you don't even care how much effort you spent helping them get there. It reminds me of the scripture in D&C 123:17: "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power [getting them to cross the first bridge]; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed [as their testimony grows and God's blessings increase... if they choose to cross that bridge]."

That's all I've got time for today. I love and miss you all! Have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Montgomery

Fwd: Letter #61 - 6/2/14

​I love this picture! She looks great! ​

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elizabeth Montgomery <elizabeth.montgomery@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 6:36 AM
Subject: Letter #61 - 6/2/14
To: Christine Montgomery <chrismont9@gmail.com>

Dear family,

I'm kind of at a loss about what to write this week... Things were a little slower this week, though we did have a couple first lessons with some people from English, which were good. Unfortunately, things didn't work out with meeting with our other investigators except for one lesson with Lera yesterday. It seems like all our investigators are moving as slow as turtles, and their concerns are real stumbling blocks that Sister Parish and I almost constantly are thinking about. At least I can take comfort in the gift of discernment, knowing that God can make known unto us missionaries the thoughts, needs, and desires of those who we teach (Alma 10:17, Alma 12:7, and others). We just need to live worthy of that gift, ask for it, and act on it.

Funny story from the week: Monday night for FHE we stopped by a woman in the ward named Nina. She invited all six of us missionaries over and also one of her friends. When we got there, she asked us to wash our hands and help a little with the cooking, and she pointed us into the bathroom. Sister Parish asked me where to wash her hands, the sink or the tub, and I pointed to the tub because (1) I didn't actually see that there was a sink, and (2) in a lot of Ukrainian homes, you just wash your hands in the tub. Well, she turns on the tub water, and all the sudden Nina comes running in, screaming at us to turn the water off. Why? Because she had put a pot of "compote" (it's like homemade juice that you make over the stove) in the bath water to cool it down. She asked frantically, "Did any water get into there?" (because it was unfiltered, dirty water), and we were like, "No, no, it's fine!" She was relieved and took the compote to the kitchen, but then Sister Parish and I just looked at each other with a terrified look on our faces because we were both almost positive that the bath water actually did get into the juice. Then the other missionaries showed up and we had to explain why were acting so weird, and I'm pretty sure we all prayed that we wouldn't get poisoned from the contaminated juice. The good news is that the compote ended up being delicious, no one got sick, and we had some pretty great laughs from it. :)

Another great story, this one a bit more spiritual, was that I went to my first temple sealing! There's a couple in the ward, Yuri and Yana with their 4-year-old daughter, that got baptized a year ago, and on Saturday afternoon they got sealed for time and for all eternity in Kiev Ukraine temple. :) The Spirit was so strong, and you should've seen the way Yuri and Yana were looking at each other. And then when their little daughter came in and got sealed to them... she was so cute and reverent and angels could have been surrounding her for all I know. It was so beautiful, the whole thing. I don't think I'll ever forget that sealing. Today I wrote President:

I wanted to thank you for giving us permission to go to our ward members' sealing this past week. Not only did it help us strengthen our relationship with ward members, but it was a very spiritual experience for me that helped me remember my ultimate goal for the people that I meet and talk with -- not just becoming our investigators, and not even just getting baptized, but receiving all the blessings that Heavenly Father has in store for them through making and keeping sacred covenants (from baptism to sealing). Sister Parish and I both had the thought during the sealing, "We've got to find more of these people." More of the elect, more Yana's and Yuri's, more of God's children who He has promised to reach out to through us.

And finally, a little spiritual thought. Lately I've been trying to really seek the will and mind of Heavenly Father instead of just my own thoughts or the opinions of others. There's a lot of questions that come up in our lives, and though sometimes we're quick to go to friends or family or church leaders for answers, sometimes I think we forgot that we can ask the Source of all truth and information: God. Well, lately I've been more open and specific in my questions to Heavenly Father as I pray, and He has given me such amazing and specific answers in return -- sometimes in the very moment, and sometimes later as I'm studying the scriptures or just walking. We shouldn't be shy in asking Him questions; if it's important to us, then it's important to Him, and He loves us and therefore wants to answer our questions. Of course there's conditions and other principles related to this principle that you can study on your own, but I just wanted to encourage you to be more open and specific in your prayers and seek the personal revelation that the Holy Ghost is just waiting to grant you. D&C 76:5-10 isn't just a pretty passage; it's an eternal promise, and I'm a witness to it's reality, if only to a small degree.

K, love you all! Have a great week! And for all who are wondering (or maybe just Mom): yes, I'm still safe. :)

Love,

Sister Montgomery

PS -- The pic is me in Pusha-Voditsya from last week. So beautiful!